SSD in Mini-PCIe slot on mid-2009 MacBook Pro

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Level 1

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SSD in Mini-PCIe slot on mid-2009 MacBook Pro

Hi all

I've just bought a mid-2009 MacBook Pro (the one with a 2.8GHz Core 2 Duo and 9400M and 9600M GT).

I want to add an SD to the current mechanical storage to install OS X and programs on. I don't want an Optibay as I would rather keep the optical drive so I am now looking at the Mini PCI-Express SSD drives. Currently the Airport card is in that slot, and I can replace that with a small USB Wi-Fi dongle.

My question is does the slot run at full speed (i.e. 1x or 2x, as I hear some run at USB 2.0 speeds only), and is it fully-functional or has Apple limited it to the Airport cards only, as Toshiba do with some of their laptops?

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7.2), 2009 MacBook Pro, 2.8GHz Core 2 Duo

Posted on Nov 9, 2011 1:02 PM

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Answer 1

benweston Author

Level 1

4 points

Nov 9, 2011 1:03 PM in response to benweston

*SD = SSD

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Answer 2

eww

Level 9

53,052 points

Nov 9, 2011 1:16 PM in response to benweston

There is no Airport card in any slot in a 2009 MBP. The Airport card is inside the display hinge cover. If you have something in your ExpressCard 34 slot, it isn't an Airport card.

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Answer 3

benweston Author

Level 1

4 points

Nov 9, 2011 2:52 PM in response to eww

I'm not talking about the ExpressCard slot, I'm talking about the Mini PCI Express slot. I haven't opened the mid-2009 model yet but I presume it has a Mini PCIe slot with a Mini PCIe Airport card in with the aerials surrounding the display, like 99% of laptops and the other MacBooks?

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